It was not exactly clear why Israel was so offended by Syria “acting against” its planes which were located above Syrian airspace at the time of shooting. In any case he warned that “we won’t hesitate. Israel’s security is above everything else; there will be no compromise.”

The minister was referring to the previously reported morning raid of the Israeli Air Force, the latest of several reported over the past few years, in which Israel claimed it targeted weapons bound for the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah. Israel says it has to protect itself from advanced weapons which the militants try to obtain from the Syrian government. Syria shot surface-to-air S-200 missiles at the Israeli planes as they were flying back from the night mission. As noted above, Damascus claims it shot down one of the planes, although Israel still denies.